Spreads on mortgage-backed securities with non-qualified mortgages have tightened in recent years, according to S&P Global Ratings. “Since non-QM deals first appeared in 2014, their AAA spreads have tightened, suggesting that the market may be growing more comfortable with this asset class,” the rating service said. The spread measures the price of MBS tranches compared with a benchmark international swap rate. Tighter spreads indicate greater demand from investors ...

The retail channel is the main source of expanded-credit mortgages, followed by brokers, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets based on loans in non-agency mortgage-backed securities issued since 2016. Some 57.0 percent of loans in expanded-credit MBS issued in recent years were sourced through the retail channel. And 36.6 percent came through brokers. The shares are based on deals that disclose channel sourcing ... [Includes one data chart]

The share of cash-out mortgages in prime non-agency MBS has increased in recent years, prompting concerns from Moody’s Investors Service. The rating service noted that the cash-out refi share increased from around 1.0 percent in early 2012 to around 8.0 percent in the second half of 2017. The cash-out refi share has been even higher in some recent issuance. Such loans accounted for 14.9 percent of the $736.5 million deal JPMorgan Chase issued this week ...

Redwood Trust entered the single-family rental market this week by purchasing a stake in 5 Arches, a lender and asset manager. The move is part of a diversification strategy for Redwood, with officials at the real estate investment trust expecting growth among renters. Redwood acquired a 20.0 percent interest in 5 Arches with a one-year option to purchase the remaining 80 percent of the company. Redwood paid $10.0 million in cash for the minority stake and can buy the rest of the ...

A sharp increase in recent months in the volume of mortgages eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises being placed in non-agency MBS is exposing investors to higher potential losses than deals backed solely by prime jumbo loans, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency.

Since the start of 2018, two new firms have issued prime non-agency MBS and a third player looks set to rejoin the sector. Issuers expect more competition this year due to relatively strong demand from investors for prime non-agency MBS.

Issuers of non-agency commercial MBS responded to risk-retention requirements by tightening underwriting standards and passing costs onto borrowers, according to an analysis by Craig Furfine, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Issuance of prime jumbo mortgage-backed securities is on the rise but underwriting standards for loans in the deals aren’t changing much, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Some $4.23 billion of prime jumbo MBS was issued in the first quarter of 2018, the highest quarterly volume for the sector since the first three months of 2015. Issuers in the sector have largely maintained super-prime underwriting standards since the financial crisis ... [Includes two data charts]

Chimera Investment, JPMorgan Chase and Redwood Trust plan to issue new prime non-agency mortgage-backed securities in the coming weeks, adding to momentum in a market where most issuers are optimistic about production volume. The planned CIM Trust 2018-J1 would mark a return to the jumbo MBS market for Chimera. The real estate investment trust has focused its issuance efforts on seasoned mortgages in recent years after dabbling in jumbo MBS around 2012 ...

Full third-party due diligence reviews were completed on only 20.0 percent of the loans being pooled by Flagstar Bank into a new non-agency mortgage-backed security. Rating services delivered mixed assessments of the due diligence sampling rate, which could set a standard for the market. The $704.1 million Flagstar Mortgage Trust 2018-2 is scheduled to close at the end of the month. DBRS, Fitch Ratings, Kroll Bond Rating Agency and Moody’s Investors Service all ...